Meet Colleen Curtis. Colleen is a Michigan native who moved from Chicago to Brooklyn. Although she travels often for work, she tries to explore each city to find hidden gems. Read more to learn about her favorite trips and how she plans on visiting all 50 United States!…

When I was at college, an Oriya friend of mine had gifted me a magnet with a picture of Lord Jagannatha which still finds a place on my refrigerator after all these years. So when work took me to Puri some time ago, I thought I must visit the temple if schedule permitted. Early one morning, I skipped my long run on the beach and instead took a cycle rickshaw to the temple. Puri is basically a temple town and all roads lead to the temple. When I started at 7 am, I thought I would be the…

Do you feel like you haven’t learned anything useful lately? Well, not to worry. I’m here to pass on my hard-earned wisdom gained on my travels. This time, we look at my trip to Cancun, which was the first time I’d gone to touristy Mexico city. I can’t say I got the full experience, because we got there in the middle of a rainstorm that turned into a tropical storm, so much of our week there was spent in on and off pouring rain. Fun!…

This past weekend I decided to do something I’ve been meaning to do for a while. We drive by the farmers market pretty much every weekend and never stop, so on Saturday we grabbed a fried and drove up the road to load up on some fresh fruits, veggies and anything else that looked good. At 9am it was already packed full of people, which surprised me on a holiday weekend when many folks were going out of town or,…

Whether you live in an apartment, college dorm or RV, it can always be beneficial to find items that won’t take up a lot of space, help you minimize and multitask. If you are torn between buying something that works for travel and something that works for your tiny living space, you’re in luck. There are five fun and useful gadgets that can work for both, because they are multi-functional and small. And just think, in the long…

Haggling is not for everyone and not everyone is good at it.

True hagglers know that it is not about undercutting the seller or over charging the buyer. Haggling is the ancient art of negotiating a mutually beneficial deal over fine and often blurry lines.

10 Simple Rules for Negotiating

1. Mutual respect often seals the deal. Don’t be rude or condescending when negotiating
2. It’s supposed to be a fun cultural experience, not about pinching…

Mackinac Island (pronounced mack-i-naw, um, eye-land) is at the top of the Michigan mitten. Except for a couple of emergency vehicles and snowmobiles, cars are banned from the eye-land. This peculiarity brings millions of tourists to Mackinac--that and the fact that Somewhere in Time…

As a smoker, I know it’s bad for me. I know it’s bad for you. I know it’s a filthy, dirty habit, but I try to be responsible about where I smoke and do my best to not offend. That being said, sometimes enough is enough.

I hit my limit this past week on a trip to Sedona, Arizona. If you’ve never been, Sedona is a gorgeous small city home to red rocks, spiritual vortexes and beautiful state…

The abyss of the blue sky slowly gave way to the billowing gray clouds of the coming storm. At first it was as though someone had stretched cotton across the sky, like the cob webs we buy for Halloween. That soon gave way to a couple of small mushroom clouds approaching from just beyond the horizon.

As the wind began to blow a little harder, the sky quickly grew dark as the thunderheads began to consume all I could see. In the distance the booming echoed amongst the river bluffs, like…

I decided to use this photo as my Week’s Pic since I’ve been sending this out to Facebook friends recently. I joined an online photography contest and sent this photo in as my entry.

I’m not really a biggie into these online contests, especially with the race towards having the most number of “likes.” I…

As part of our Backpacker's Europe trip, our first destination was Rome in Italy. Rare is the traveler who isn’t smitten by Italy. Everyone loves the Italians – their quirky outspoken zest for life, and their gorgeous country & rich culture. A country of ancient history, artistic splendour, divine food & wine, and a romantic olive-grove dappled landscape, Italy hits the heart & soul fast. Natural & historic beauties aside, modern Italy is exceptionally vibrant & simmers…

Casa Nova has been recognized by the travel media and luxury agents as a one-of-a-kind property.   Featured by Forbes and Robb Report, Casa Nova is the only villa included amongst other 5 star ski country accommodations (other properties...St. Regis and Montage), and for good reason.  

Casa Nova is the only property in the US to offer a guest the opportunity to vacation in a home while affording the most discriminating traveler 5 star hotel amenities...beginning with our 24/7…

Berlin Airport Transportation.  Berlin Transfers.  Transfer Berlin Airport.…

This was the first Saturday in a long time that we slept in as we were not looking at a three plus hour drive to wherever we want to go. Instead this destination was less than an hour away and promised to hold a trove of historical and the occasional haunted experience. Atchison, KS was originally plotted in July 1854 by men from Missouri who named it after a well known Missouri senator, David Rice Atchison.

The most informative way to see and learn about the history of Atchison is to…

It's been four months since Jace and I went to Gallipoli, which was the last time we were out of Istanbul (unless you count our day trip to Kilyos, which I don't). Naturally, when we knew that we would get a few days off work at the end of Ramazan, we jumped at the chance to plan a trip out of the city.



As fans of all things ancient, we decided to go to Ephesus - called Efes in Turkish - just near the present-day town of Selçuk in the Izmir province on the…

As the mom to an active young woman who has a disability, we have had our share of travels.  We could easily do our own version of the movie "Plane, Trains, and Automobiles", but also include boats, helicopters, and waverunners.

Through it, I've seen the effects that these changes in pace and venue have had on my daughter.  She has learned about tolerance and perspective, as she has experienced different cultures, lifestyles, and ways of thinking.

I believe it…